SLO County judges send Tianna Arata controversy to the appellate court

April 10, 2021

By KAREN VELIE

A panel of three San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judges on Friday ordered another appeal of Judge Matt Guerrero’s ruling to recuse the entire district attorney’s office in a cases regarding Black Lives Matter protesters transferred to the appellate court in Ventura, another win for prosecutors.

The SLO County three member panel includes retired Judge Barry La Barbera, Judge Linda Hurst and Judge Gayle Peron. The panel decided on Friday to transfer the appeal regarding Tianna Arata, Marcus Montgomery, Amman Asfaw and Joshua Powell.

In their order, the judges said they approved the transfer “to secure uniformity of decision.”

During a July 21 BLM march, Arata allegedly led approximately 300 protesters onto Highway 101, blocking all lanes in both directions for nearly an hour. While on the highway, protesters ran after vehicles attempting to drive off the freeway and yelled profanities at some of the drivers, according to videos of the protest.

Prosecutors charged Arata with one count of unlawful assembly, one count of disturbing the peace, six counts of obstruction of a thoroughfare, and five counts of false imprisonment — all misdemeanors.

The district attorney also filed two misdemeanor charges against Jerad Hill, three misdemeanor charges against Sam Grocott, a felony charge of vandalism and a misdemeanor charge against Robert Lastra, four misdemeanor charges against Marcus Montgomery and one misdemeanor charge each against Joshua Powell and Amman Asfaw.

During a Dec. 10 hearing, defense attorneys argued that District Attorney Dan Dow’s personal political opinions jeopardized the seven defendants’ rights to a fair trial, and that local prosecutors should be replaced by the California Office of the Attorney General.

In opposition to the defense, local and state prosecutors argued against the disqualification, noting the defense is required to show an actual conflict of interest and not a perceived conflict.

Judge Matt Guerrero then ruled that Dow had a clear conflict of interest based on the wording of an email he and and his wife sent to supporters seeking donations. The email asked supporters to help Dow lead the fight against the “wacky defund the police movement and anarchist groups that are trying to undermine the rule of law and public safety in our community.”

In early January, the California Attorney General’s Office filed two appeals regarding Guerrero’s finding, one in the felony case against Lastra — the protester who allegedly smashed a car window onto a 4-year-old boy — and one in the misdemeanor filings against the remaining six defendants. Generally, the 2nd District Court of Appeal hears felony appeals, while a panel of three SLO County Superior Court judges rule on misdemeanor appeals.

Lastra’s attorney Brian Ford filed a motion in March arguing his client’s appeal should be moved to the SLO County Court where Judge Guerrero’s coworkers would hear the case, suggesting that the case would be charged as a misdemeanor. Even though Lastra’s case remained a felony, the Second Appellate District Court determined the SLO County Superior Court had jurisdiction over the appeal.

Deputy Attorney General Charles Lee then petitioned the court to change their order, as Lastra was charged with a felony, and to transfer the misdemeanor cases to the appellate court. The appellate court approved the transfer of three of the cases on May 7, while recommending the SLO County Superior Court panel transfer the remaining four cases, which they did on Friday.

After legal briefs are filed by both the prosecutors and defense attorneys, oral arguments will be scheduled and held before the appellate court makes their decision.